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Halfway House - presented by Edinburgh Pub Guide

24 Fleshmarket CloseOLD TOWN, EdinburghEH1

Review By: Elly, Edinburgh

Title: Great grub great atmosphere

Review Date: 2007-09-20 15:27:30

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 5

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: 5

The halfway house does really great food, although it can be hard to get a seat over busy times. Definately worth going for their game pie or stovies. Good selection of real ales too .. would reccommend to natives ans visitors alike

Review By: Nick

Title: Sad

Review Date: 2007-08-12 23:35:20

Overall Rating: 1

Ambience Rating: 0

Value Rating: 1

Food & Drink Rating: 1

Sorry but the atmosphere is NOT good, very unfriendly staff, incredibly unhelpful, lousy music, rather unsatisfying selecion of whiskeys etc... ok some good ales.
Very disapointing after reading all these good reviews, it is like something changed after they got their awards for best pub...

Review By: jim

Title: five star?

Review Date: 2007-07-10 14:35:13

Overall Rating: 1

Ambience Rating: 1

Value Rating: 1

Food & Drink Rating: Not Rated Yet

how can this be 5*?

it has good real ale but had rather unwelcoming feel. so small you get gawped at. ok if you are a tourist...

Review By: Jabba (Germany)

Title: Good choice!

Review Date: 2007-07-06 14:52:34

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 5

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: 5

Great atmosphere, nice staff, good service, handpumped ale. What more do you need? We stepped into not knowing what's awaitung us. But we weren't sorry. It became a great evening. When I'm in Edinburgh again it will be a 'must' to go to Halfway House.

Review By: MacLaur

Title: Great pub !

Review Date: 2007-03-13 17:53:08

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 5

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: 5

Small pub with great atmosphere. The man in the bar is really nice, and beers changes frequently, so if you are a beer lover and also enjoys a really nice pub, this is where to go !

Review By: Edgar

Title: My New Favorite

Review Date: 2006-11-21 20:17:18

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 4

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: 5

One visit to the Halfway House and I did not bother with any other pub for three days.

Great beer on a daily rotation and excellent food. The place is small enough to be really cozy, but we always managed to find seating.

Best pub food ever - at really good prices.

Review By: McLean

Title: Halfway House - best in town

Review Date: 2006-11-16 15:34:39

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 5

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: 5

Great pub. Great staff. Great service. Great food. Great beer. Any one-star reviewers say a lot about themselves with that rating. Five stars aren't enough for the best pub in town.

Review By: Dr Dred

Title: Where are the satff

Review Date: 2006-10-31 21:08:14

Overall Rating: 1

Ambience Rating: 1

Value Rating: 3

Food & Drink Rating: 2

Went in for a drink with a few friends around lunchtime. The bar was fairly busy and a few in for food. The bar person was the chef and it was plain to see what their focus was on.

Be a pub and not a restaurant, or employ a chef!

Review By: Capt Martin "Blackdog" Hagman

Title: Best pub in Edinburgh (so far)

Review Date: 2006-08-27 02:09:59

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 5

Value Rating: 4

Food & Drink Rating: 4

On holiday in Edinburgh, CAMRA suggests to try this pub for its real ale, so I did and was very impressed with the service and friendly bar staff, we had a good chat and if you only visit one pub in Edinburgh this is the one to go to. Well done to all concerned.

Review By: Mark Smith

Title: My New Favourite Edinburgh Pub

Review Date: 2006-08-26 16:32:00

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 4

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: 5

I have to admit to being underwhelmed by the atmosphere when first introduced to this pub, but now I have warmed to the place, and barely notice the slightly living-roomy atmosphere.

The beer is always excellent, with an interesting and ever-changing variety. The bar staff are both attentive and friendly, and the beer and food are excellent value. I have spent many a pleasant lunchtime and evening here.

The only flaw with this pub is that it's not closer to my house in Bonnyrigg!

Close to perfection.

Review By: Bob Skinner

Title: Well...

Review Date: 2006-07-27 23:51:50

Overall Rating: 1

Ambience Rating: 4

Value Rating: 3

Food & Drink Rating: 2

This pub always gets great reviews yet I've never enjoyed it on several visits. One night the beer was off, another two times cloudy and on the worst visit the bar person was on the phone chatting to her friend and ignored us for nearly 5 minutes (we walked out). It could be a great pub but it isn't. If it had just been once I'd say I was unlucky but after 4 visits I'd say not.

Review By: Allan

Title: Halfway to paradise

Review Date: 2006-05-28 18:33:03

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 5

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: 5

This is what pubs are about,beautifully kept ales many of which I have not come across before and excellent food to keep you sustained as you try a pint or three.We only travel from Newcastle but never miss this place on our travels north of the border.

Review By: Plento

Title: Halfway there and back

Review Date: 2005-11-23 17:31:27

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 4

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: 5

Great little pub!. Always the first port of call whenever I enter the fine City that is Edinburgh. Sited 50 Yards from the Waverley train station halfway up Fleshmarket Close I can be ther in 5 mins from getting off the train. Great selection of independant ales and whyskey's. Prices are not any different to any other pub in the area. As for the food only my Mom cooks better, great range to fill a hole and value for money to the bargain. And on the way home, alway's the last port of call. Though I did miss my train home 3 time's on one occasion. Well worth a visit or 2!

Review By: Willie Scott

Title: Fond Memories

Review Date: 2005-03-26 07:25:28

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 5

Value Rating: 5

Food & Drink Rating: Not Rated Yet

I now live in Sydney,but used to frequent this good old Edinburgh pub.
When home on holiday in 84,it was packed to the door on a nice Summers night,when with my wife,I went and dropped one,soon cleared the place out,not a soul left in the pub,exept myself and her indoors,the bar staff where very understanding and served me,I was scared to go outside incase the other punters where going to lynch me.
I wonder if anyone else out there remember this.
Good to read its still a great traditional Edinburgh pub,its the one thing we miss here in Australia.

Review By: David Wright

Title: Halfway to Paradise

Review Date: 2004-12-05 21:02:59

Overall Rating: 5

Ambience Rating: 5

Value Rating: 4

Food & Drink Rating: 5

This is not the sort of pub you come across very often. Firstly, with its secluded position, halfway between Cockburn Street and Market Street, there is not a lot of passing trade. It has a corner door and if you step in too quickly you are right in the middle of it, It must be the smallest pub in Edinburgh.
However when you are in there it is very worthwhile. There are four handpumps all with oddly named ales from small breweries I have never heard of. As I didn't fancy the steep walk up to the Royal Mile just yet I chose a pint from the pump nearest the door. The barmaid certainly knew how to handle the pump and a pint was dispensed without the traditional wait for it to settle that you find in a lot of 'real ale' bars. Took my seat in one of the little alcoves and had a look at all the railway paraphanalia that adorns the walls, none of the fake stuff here. 100% genuine artefacts that must have taken many years to accumalate. The pint was going down very well and then decision time came, should I have the same or try something else. Not a lot to do tonight so back to the bar for a closer look, noticed the small blackboard with an small but interesting selection, from toasties to a game casserole. Another pint and a plate of haggis, neeps and tatties, surprised at the amount of change I received back but checked the blackboard and it was correct. Only a couple of mouthfuls of the new pint had been quaffed when the food arrived,hot and pleasently displayed.
Food and drink finished and I noticed the abcense of loud music and large TV screens that have blighted so many pubs. The juke box plays occasionally but you can still hear yourself think. Needless to say by the time I left that evening I had worked my way though the handpumps and finished with a whisky from the carefully selected range.
What is wrong with the place? It is out of the way so I have to make a special journey to get there, the bar can get a little congested but even then the service is excellent.
All in all a very pleasant local situated in the heart of the city